The use of braided or woven fabric sleeves for the protection of cables, hoses and other elongated, flexible articles from the effects of abrasion, high temperatures or the like is well known in the art. Examples selected from a broad spectrum of sleeving products are available from manufacturers such as Bentley-Harris Inc. One such fabric sleeve is a product marketed under the trademark EXPANDO. EXPANDO.RTM. sleeving products are lightweight and provide tough physical protection for cable assemblies, wiring harnesses and the like. Many of these products are typically of an open construction, provide abrasion resistance, allow for the circulation of air and prevent the entrapment of moisture. The substrates are neatly maintained in compact form and are protected against abrasion and the possibility of being individually snagged by moving parts of nearby machinery or the like. Other forms of sleeving products are of relatively closed construction and are fabricated of insulating yarns comprised of materials such as glass fiber for the purpose of providing thermal protection.
Some of the products mentioned are longitudinally slit and provided with fastening means so as to allow them to be used in the bundling of elongated objects which previously have been installed and fastened at both ends. One such product is sold under the trademark EXPANDO ZIP. This product is provided with zipper-type fasteners to allow for fastening around the substrate or substrates. Another such product is a braided product having resiliently set filaments extending transversely of the long axis of the product. The resiliently set filaments cause the side edges of a split sleeve to yieldably close, simplifying installation over previously installed elongated devices.
A product of this type is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,149, granted May 9, 1995. Other examples of sleeving products are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,887, which shows a braided sleeve comprised of materials such as glass fiber and resilient fiber, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,284, which discloses the protection of wires or cables by wrapping with a coated and impregnated fabric tape.